Читать книгу Eye Tracking the User Experience - Aga Bojko - Страница 20

The decision about whether or not eye tracking is appropriate for a study boils down to three questions. Figure 2.1 illustrates the process I go through when considering eye tracking as a method for a study. Typically, this is an implicit exercise unless I have to explain to the stakeholders why using eye tracking is or isn’t a good idea.

FIGURE 2.1 A set of questions to determine whether or not eye tracking is a suitable method for a research study.

The first and most important question is “Will eye tracking generate actionable insight that addresses my study objectives?” This is not to be mistaken for “Will eye tracking tell me something I don’t know?” Eye tracking will almost always reveal something new and perhaps even interesting, which is undoubtedly tempting. However, that insight may not be able to inform any decisions that have to be made based on the research findings. To justify using eye tracking in your study, your answer to the first question should be “yes.” But that’s not enough. There are two more questions, and you need at least one more “yes” to proceed.

The second question encourages the researcher to reflect on the economy of the selected approach: “Is eye tracking the simplest method that would answer my study questions?” If other, more conventional research methods (e.g., observation and user interview) can answer the study questions (which is, in fact, often the case), the use of eye tracking may be unjustified.

The third and last question, “Does my study need a buy-in boost?” should resonate with many UX researchers. You can’t make a difference if you don’t have others on your side, and that sometimes requires adding “color” and perceived credibility to your results. Even if the answer to the second question is “no,” a “yes” to this one gives you the green light, as long as the first question is a “yes” (meaning you have made sure that actionable insight will result from eye tracking).